Frostbite Chapter 22

TWENTY-TWOHORROR AND spite CONSUMED ME, so much so that I thought my soul would shrivel, that the world would end right whence and there- because surely, surely it couldnt keep going on after this. No one could keep going on after this. I precious to exclaim my pain to the universe. I wanted to cry until I melted. I wanted to sink down beside Mason and die with him.Elena released me, apparently deciding I posed no danger positioned as I was surrounded by her and Isaiah. She turned toward Masons body.And I stopped feeling. I only when acted.Dont. Touch. Him. I didnt recognize my own voice.She rolled her look. Good rue, youre annoying. Im started to see Isaiahs point- you do need to suffer stunned look dying. move away, she knelt down to the floor and flipped Mason over onto his back.Dont touch him I screamed. I shoved her with little effect. She shoved back, nearly smash me over. It was tout ensemble I could do to steady my feet and stay upright.Isaiah looked on with amu sed interest then his esteem fell to the floor. Lissas chotki had fallen out of my coat pocket. He picked it up. Strigoi could touch holy objects- the stories about them fearing crosses werent true. They incisively couldnt take part holy ground. He flipped the cross over and ran his fingers over the etched dragon.Ah, the Dragomirs, he mused. Id forgotten about them. informal to. Theres what, one? Two of them left? Barely worth remembering. Those horrible red eye focused on me. Do you know any of them? Ill gather in to see to them one of these days. It wont be very hard to- Suddenly, I heard an explosion. The aquarium burst apart as water shot out of it, shattering the glass. Pieces of it flew toward me, entirely I barely noticed. The water coalesced in the air, forming a lopsided sphere. It began to float. Toward Isaiah. I mat my tantalize drop as I stared at it.He watched it too, more puzzled than scared. At least until it imprisoned around his face and started suffocating him.Much like the bul permits, suffocation wouldnt kill him. But it could cause him a hell of a lot of discomfort.His give flew to his face, desperately trying to pry the water away. It was no use. His fingers simply slipped through. Elena forgot about Mason and jumped to her feet.What is it? she shrieked. She shook him in an equally useless effort to free him. Whats happening?Again, I didnt feel. I acted. My hand closed around a large piece of glass from the broken aquarium. It was erose and sharp, cutting into my hand.Sprinting forward, I plunged the shard into Isaiahs chest, aiming for the heart Id worked so hard to find in practice. Isaiah emitted a strangle scream through the water and collapsed to the floor. His eyes rolled back in his head as he blacked out from the pain.Elena stared, as shocked as Id been when Isaiah had killed Mason. Isaiah wasnt dead, of course, but he was temporarily down for the count. Her face intelligibly showed she hadnt thought that was possible .The smart thing at that point would occupy been to run toward the door and the suns off the hook(predicate)ty. Instead, I ran in the opposite direction, toward the fireplace. I grabbed one of the antique s interchanges and turned back toward Elena. I didnt have far to go, because shed acquire herself and was heading toward me.Snarling with rage, she tried to grab me. I had never trained with a sword, but I had been taught to contend with any exculpateshift weapon I could find. I used the sword to keep distance between us, my motions clumsy but effective for the time being.White fangs flashed in her mouth. I am going to make you- Suffer, pay, regret I was ever born? I suggested.I remembered fighting with my mom, how Id been on the defensive the intact time. That wouldnt work this time. I had to attack. Jabbing forward, I tried to land a blow on Elena. No luck. She anticipated my every move.Suddenly, from behind her, Isaiah groaned as he started to light around. She glanced ba ck, the smallest of motions that let me swipe the sword crosswise her chest. It cut the fabric of her shirt and grazed the skin, but nothing more. ease, she flinched and looked down in panic. I phone the glass going through Isaiahs heart was still fresh in her mind.And that was what I really needed.I mustered all my strength, drew back, and swung.The swords blade hit the side of her neck, hard and deep. She gave a horrible, sickening cry, a shriek that made my skin crawl. She tried to move toward me. I pulled back and hit again. Her hands clutched at her throat, and her knees gave way. I struck and struck, the sword digging deeper into her neck each time. Cutting off soulfulnesss head was harder than Id thought it would be. The old, muffled sword probably wasnt helping.But finally, I gained luxuriant sense to realize she wasnt moving. Her head lay there, uninvolved from her body, her dead eyes looking up at me as though she couldnt cerebrate what had happened. That made card inal of us.Someone was screaming, and for a surreal second, I thought it was still Elena. Then I displace my eyes and looked across the room. Mia stood in the doorway, eyes bugging out and skin tinged green like she might throw up. Distantly, in the back of my mind, I realized she was the one whod made the aquarium explode. urine magic apparently wasnt surly after all.Still a bit shaken, Isaiah tried to rise to his feet. But I was on him in front he could fully manage it. The sword sang out, wreaking blood and pain with each blow. I felt like an old pro now. Isaiah fell back to the floor. In my mind, I kept seeing him knock Masons neck, and I hacked and hacked as hard as I could, as though striking fiercely enough might somehow banish the memory.Rose RoseThrough my hate-filled haze, I just barely spy Mias voice.Rose, hes deadSlowly, shakily, I held back the next blow and looked down at his body- and the head no prolonged attached to it. She was right. He was dead. Very, very dead.I looked at the rest of the room. There was blood everywhere, but the abhorrence of it didnt really register with me. My world had slowed down, slowed down to two very simple tasks. Kill the Strigoi. Protect Mason. I couldnt process anything else.Rose, whispered Mia. She was trembling, her words filled with fear. She was afraid of me, not the Strigoi. Rose, we have to go. Come on.I dragged my eyes away from her and looked down at Isaiahs remains. After several moments, I crawled over to Masons body, still clutching the sword.No, I croaked out. I cant leave him. Other Strigoi might come.My eyes burned like I desperately wanted to cry. I couldnt verbalise for sure. The bloodlust still pounded in me, violence and rage the only emotions I was capable of anymore.Rose, well come back for him. If other Strigoi are coming, we have to drop dead out.No, I repeated, not even looking at her. Im not leaving him. I wont leave him alone. With my free hand, I stroked Masons hair.Rose- I jer ked my head up. Get out I screamed at her. Get out, and leave us alone.She took a few steps forward, and I lifted the sword. She froze.Get out, I repeated. Go find the others.Slowly, Mia backed up toward the door. She gave me one last, desperate look in front running outside.Silence fell, and I relaxed my hold on the sword but refused to let it go. My body sagged forward, and I rested my head on Masons chest. I became oblivious to everything to the world around me, to time itself. Seconds could have passed. Hours could have passed. I didnt know. I didnt know anything except that I couldnt leave Mason alone. I existed in an alter state, a state that just barely kept the terror and grief at bay. I couldnt believe Mason was dead. I couldnt believe Id just summoned death. So long as I refused to acknowledge either, I could pretend they hadnt happened.Footsteps and voices eventually sounded, and I lifted my head up. People poured in through the door, lots of them. I couldnt really make out any of them. I didnt need to. They were threats, threats I had to keep Mason safe from. A couple of them approached me, and I leapt up, lifting the sword and holding it protectively over his body. preventative back, I warned. Stay away from him.They kept coming.Stay back I yelled. They stopped. Except for one.Rose, came a soft voice. Drop the sword.My hands shook. I swallowed. Get away from us.Rose.The voice spoke again, a voice that my soul would have know anywhere. Hesitantly, I let myself finally become aware of my surroundings, let the details sink in. I let my eyes focus on the features of the man standing there. Dimitris brown eyes, gentle and firm, looked down on me.Its okay, he give tongue to. Everythings going to be okay. You can let go of the sword.My hands shook even harder as I fought to hold on to the hilt. I cant. The words hurt coming out. I cant leave him alone. I have to protect him.You have, verbalise Dimitri.The sword fell out of my hands, landing with a l oud clatter on the wooden floor. I followed, collapsing on all fours, wanting to cry but still unable to.Dimitris fortify wrapped around me as he helped me up. Voices swarmed around us, and one by one, I recognized battalion I knew and trusted. He started to tug me toward the door, but I refused to move just yet. I couldnt. My hands clutched his shirt, crumpling the fabric. Still keeping one arm around me, he smoothed my hair back away from my face. I leaned my head against him, and he continued stroking my hair, murmuring something in Russian. I didnt understand a word of it, but the gentle tone soothed me.Guardians were spreading throughout the house, examining it inch by inch. A couple of them approached us and knelt by the bodies I refused to look at.She did that? Both of them?That sword hasnt been sharpened in yearsA unusual sound caught in my throat. Dimitri squeezed my shoulder comfortingly.Get her out of here, Belikov, I heard a woman say behind him, her voice familiar.Di mitri squeezed my shoulder again. Come on, Roza. Its time to go.This time, I went. He guided me out of the house, holding onto me as I managed each agonizing step. My mind still refused to really process what had happened. I couldnt do much more than follow simple directions from those around me.I eventually ended up on one of the Academys jets. Engines roared around us as the plane lifted off. Dimitri murmured something about coming back soon and left me alone in my seat. I stared straight ahead, studying the details of the seat in front of me.Someone sat beside me and draped a blanket over my shoulders. I noticed then just how badly I was shivering. I tugged at the edges of the blanket.Im cold, I said. How am I so cold?Youre in shock, Mia answered.I turned and looked at her, studying her blond curls and big blue eyes. Something about seeing her unleashed my memories. It all tumbled back. I squeezed my eyes shut.Oh God, I breathed. I opened my eyes and focused on her again. You r escue me- saved me when you blew up the fish tank. You shouldnt have done it. You shouldnt have come back.She shrugged. You shouldnt have gone for the sword.Fair point. convey you, I told her. What you did I never would have thought of that. It was brilliant.I dont know about that, she mused, smiling ruefully. Water isnt much of a weapon, remember?I choked on a laugh, even though I really didnt find my old words that funny. Not anymore.Waters a great weapon, I said finally. When we get back, well have to practice ways to use it.Her face lit up. Fierceness shone out from her eyes. Id like that. more than anything.Im sorry sorry about your mom.Mia simply nodded. Youre lucky to still have yours. You dont know how lucky.I turned and stared at the seat again. The next words out of my mouth startled me I wish she was here.She is, said Mia, sounding surprised. She was with the group that raided the house. Didnt you see her?I shook my head.We lapsed into silence. Mia stood up and left. A minute later, someone else sat down beside me. I didnt have to see her to know who she was. I just knew.Rose, said my mother. For at one time in my life, she sounded unsure of herself. Scared, maybe. Mia said you wanted to see me. I didnt answer. I didnt look at her. Whatwhat do you need?I didnt know what I needed. I didnt know what to do. The stinging in my eyes grew unbearable, and before I knew it, I was crying. Big, painful sobs seized my body. The tears Id held back so long poured down my face. The fear and grief Id refused to let myself feel finally burst free, burning in my chest. I could scarcely breathe.My mother identify her arms around me, and I buried my face in her chest, sobbing even harder.I know, she said softly, tightening her grip on me. I understand.